WILLMAR -- Anthony Joseph Staab, 17, of Willmar, was sentenced Monday to six months of supervised probation, 40 hours of community service and ordered to talk with Willmar Schools Superintendent Kathy Leedom for a May 3 bomb threat that caused authorities to evaluate the Willmar High School.
Judge Kathryn N. Smith ordered that adjudication be withheld, meaning that if Staab completes the conditions of his sentence, no conviction will appear on his record. Staab pleaded guilty Aug. 13 to one felony count of making terroristic threats. For his plea, he sought a stay of adjudication.
According to the complaint, the high school was evacuated and searched by the Willmar Police and Fire departments and deputies from the Kandiyohi County Sheriff's Office after a teacher reported to the school resource officer that the words "bomb at 1:30" had been written on a desk in her classroom. The assistant principal was summoned and it was determined that the statement was written between 8 and 9:30 a.m. Another student told officials that Staab may have written it because he appeared very moody. Staab initially denied the writing, but acknowledged that he did sit next to that desk and had used it to complete homework.
The search of the school produced no explosive devices. School officials later used handwriting samples to determine that the writing on the desk was consistent with Staab's writing. He admitted to school officials that he did write "bomb at 1:30" on the desk.
The threat was one of seven against Willmar schools, including three at the high school, during the 2006-2007 school year.
